Chen Fan found Wang Yue sitting quietly in front of his door. Seeing that she hadn't noticed him, he immediately infused his Qi into the ground, summoning a small rock in the shape of an insect and making it crawl toward her.
"Kyaa!" Wang Yue let out a startled cry as the tiny creature approached her feet. Instinctively, she backed away, only to find herself trapped against the closed door behind her. Her face turned pale for a brief moment—until she realized the insect had suddenly stopped moving. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that it was nothing more than a rock. Lifting her gaze, she saw Chen Fan standing in the distance with a mischievous smile, and her irritation flared instantly.
"That was fun, wasn't it?" she said flatly, her expression utterly deadpan.
"Ah..." Chen Fan suddenly realized she was genuinely angry. "I'm sorry."
"Hmph." Wang Yue huffed before standing up and dusting off her clothes. Noticing that the door was already open, she stepped inside without hesitation.
Chen Fan awkwardly followed behind her. When he saw her sitting on the sofa, silently watching him, he coughed lightly and shamelessly pretended nothing had happened. "Have you eaten yet?"
"Mm." Wang Yue nodded, though her face remained unreadable.
"Alright then. Do you want to start now?" Chen Fan maintained his nonchalant act.
"Haaah..." Wang Yue sighed, giving him a long look before finally saying, "Then, I'll be in your care."
Chen Fan immediately moved in front of her and presented a cultivation method. Wang Yue, now fully focused, took the book and read through it carefully. After a while, she closed her eyes, attempting to follow the instructions within. She felt a faint energy approaching her body—yet the moment it tried to enter, it was abruptly repelled.
Frowning slightly, she tried again. The second time, she could sense the energy more clearly, as though its presence had become more defined. However, no matter how many times she attempted, the result remained the same—the energy simply refused to be absorbed into her body.
"What's going on?" Chen Fan narrowed his eyes, closely observing the flow of Qi around her. His companion, Ao Xue, possessed an ability that allowed him to see Qi and even perceive the structure of human organs, yet even with that advantage, he couldn't find anything abnormal about Wang Yue's body. And yet, the Qi continuously repelled itself from her, as though it had encountered an invisible barrier.
"Hm? If we refine our spiritual eyes further, we should be able to see the cause," Ao Xue mused aloud, his voice laced with confusion. "But that would require your cultivation level to increase." It was the first time he had ever seen Qi being outright rejected by a body. Even the worst constitutions still allowed for some degree of Qi absorption—albeit in pitifully small amounts.
"Am I doing something wrong?" Wang Yue opened her eyes, meeting Chen Fan's solemn gaze. He sat down in front of her without hesitation, reaching out to hold her hands. The sudden contact made her jolt slightly.
"Focus," Chen Fan said firmly. His calm, unwavering eyes steadied her, and though she still felt embarrassed, she took a deep breath and composed herself.
This time, Chen Fan personally guided the flow of Qi, attempting to channel it directly into her meridians. Yet the same phenomenon occurred—just as the Qi was about to enter, it slipped away, dispersing before it could integrate with her body. His brows furrowed in thought.
"Um… I can feel something around me. Is that normal?" Wang Yue asked hesitantly.
Chen Fan's expression changed slightly. "Spiritual sense… but how?"
Normally, it took significant effort for cultivators to awaken their spiritual sense. Yet Wang Yue had naturally activated it without even cultivating. Even more baffling was the fact that she could not absorb Qi into her body at all.
"Can you describe it in more detail?" Chen Fan asked.
"Um…" Wang Yue hesitated, carefully choosing her words. "There's something in the air. A lot of different kinds of… something. But even though they're all different, they remain stable together?"
"She can sense the different types of Qi," Ao Xue's surprised voice echoed in Chen Fan's mind. Normally, cultivators could only determine whether Qi was present or not. They absorbed it as a single, blended force, which allowed them to use various techniques, spells, and elements. Yet Wang Yue's perception was far beyond that—she could distinguish the individual types of Qi within the environment.
This was no ordinary inability to cultivate. It was something far more mysterious.
"You… have a rather mysterious constitution," Chen Fan muttered, staring at Wang Yue with a mix of curiosity and confusion. He proceeded to explain the norms of cultivation to her, outlining how cultivators absorbed Qi into their bodies to strengthen themselves.
"Um… does that mean I can't cultivate?" Wang Yue's voice wavered slightly, her eyes reflecting dejection. What was the use of having such an ability if it didn't allow her to cultivate like everyone else?
"Let's talk to my master about this. He might know something," Chen Fan said after a moment of contemplation. He truly had no answer and could only rely on his master's wisdom.
"Master?" Wang Yue tilted her head.
"Yeah, that old geezer lives alone in the mountains. He'd probably be happy to have visitors for once," Chen Fan replied, his tone playful, yet his eyes held a hint of nostalgia.
Wang Yue observed his expression and, sensing that he held some affection for this master despite his words, nodded.
"Alright. Let's go tomorrow. It'll take a while to reach the peak, so it's best to set out in the morning," Chen Fan continued before glancing at Wang Yue. "For now, why don't we try a few experiments? Maybe we'll gain a better understanding of your condition."
Without hesitation, they began testing various methods. Chen Fan attempted to continuously inject Qi into Wang Yue, increasing the quantity each time, but the result remained unchanged—the Qi was forcefully repelled before it could even enter her body.
Curious about her perception of Qi, he asked her to describe what she sensed in the air. To his surprise, Wang Yue could distinguish Qi by color, effortlessly identifying different types. Even more astonishing, her ability seemed to sharpen rapidly.
At first, she could only differentiate Qi vaguely, but within an hour, she could immediately pinpoint specific types with precision. Her spiritual sense was growing at an alarming rate—within an hour, she could perceive everything within a 100-meter radius, and in the next hour, it expanded to 500 meters, continuing to widen at a frightening pace.
Both Chen Fan and Ao Xue, despite their own experiences and talent, were left in shock. It only stopped when her spiritual sense reached a staggering 2 kilometers—a range equivalent to what Chen Fan himself had achieved at the 20th stage of the Foundation Building Realm.
"What… in the world is this?" Ao Xue couldn't hide his disbelief. It was utterly unheard of for a mere mortal to possess such vast and refined spiritual perception. Even in the Upper Realms, there was no precedent for such a phenomenon.
"Alright, let's stop for now," Chen Fan said, his gaze falling on Wang Yue, who looked visibly fatigued. It seemed that using her spiritual sense for the first time had taken quite a toll on her mind.
"Why don't we eat something?" he suggested, slowly rising to his feet. Though his curiosity about Wang Yue's unusual condition lingered, he decided to set it aside for now—after all, she already appeared exhausted.
"Okay," Wang Yue nodded. She was starting to feel hungry as well, and she instinctively knew that eating would help stabilize her mind. No matter what methods they had tried, she remained unable to absorb Qi, only able to sense it. That fact left a lingering anxiety in her heart. "Can I take a bath first?" she asked, suddenly aware of the sticky sensation of sweat on her skin.
"Alright. You can use this," Chen Fan said, handing her a set of clothes.
Wang Yue eyed him suspiciously.
"Ahem." Chen Fan cleared his throat. "It's a custom outfit that can adjust its size. No one's worn it before."
Satisfied with the explanation, Wang Yue immediately turned and walked toward the bath. Her actions were so natural that she barely thought about it.
Once she disappeared inside, Chen Fan turned to Ao Xue, his expression turning serious. "You really don't know anything about her constitution?"
"No," Ao Xue admitted. "This is the first time I've seen or heard of something like this. Even in the Upper Realm, there are no records of such a condition."
Chen Fan frowned, deep in thought. "She's sensitive to Qi but can't absorb it… No, it's more than just sensitivity—her perception is so precise, it's practically a blessing. But at the same time, her body rejects Qi. It's a contradiction." His brows furrowed further. "Qi repelling her body… It's almost like a magnet. Maybe her body is Qi? Could it be like fire and water—two opposing forces clashing within her? Or maybe… there's something inside her acting as the antithesis of Qi? Or perhaps a seal preventing it from entering?"
The more he thought about it, the more possibilities emerged in his mind. It had been a long time since something had intrigued him this much. However, given that the subject of his curiosity was Wang Yue, there was no way he could conduct any reckless experiments on her.
Just then, Wang Yue stepped out of the bath, now dressed in the casual outfit Chen Fan had given her. Her long golden hair was still damp, strands clinging to her skin as she walked toward him. She caught sight of Chen Fan sitting on the sofa, lost in deep thought, completely unaware of her presence.
Recalling his earlier prank, a mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. She silently crept toward him, both hands prepared to release a small jolt of energy in an attempt to startle him. But just as her fingers were about to make contact—
Chen Fan reacted instantly.
Sensing something approaching from behind, his reflexes kicked in. He dodged and instinctively grabbed whatever had attacked him, pulling it forward with force. However, the moment he registered Wang Yue's surprised face, he immediately tried to control his strength. But his abrupt shift in movement caused him to lose balance—
And the sofa tipped over.
Thud.
Wang Yue couldn't fully comprehend the rapid shift in events, nor did she have the time to process how things had ended up like this. As she lay beneath him, with only mere centimeters separating them, she could feel her heartbeat pounding faster, louder, as though it was trying to escape her chest. His breath brushed against her skin, sending ripples through her heart. Her gaze remained locked on Chen Fan's face, unblinking—her mind had gone completely blank.
Chen Fan, too, found himself momentarily frozen. His eyes traced Wang Yue's scattered golden hair, strands sticking to the ground damp with water. Her hazy eyes held his own, as if drawing him in, while her lips remained slightly parted, her warm breath lingering between them. There was something about her presence at this moment—an aura that seemed to command his attention, refusing to let him look away.
A surge of heat rushed to his head. Immediately, he pushed himself up.
"S-Sorry. Are you okay?" He extended his hand toward her, his voice slightly strained.
Wang Yue finally snapped out of her daze. She reached for his hand, allowing him to help her up.
"Y-Yes. It's alright," she stammered, hastily calming her racing thoughts. Yet, even as she tried to maintain her composure, her gaze instinctively avoided his. Her mind, however, refused to let go of what had just transpired.
She stole a glance upward—only to find that Chen Fan was also avoiding her gaze. His posture was tense, his eyes deliberately focused on something in the distance.
Her breath caught in her throat. He had been so close.
His sharp, focused gaze—completely locked onto her.
Her heart thumped harder. No. No. No. There's no way… right?
Wang Yue screamed inwardly, trying to suppress the memory that refused to fade. But no matter how much she willed herself to forget, her mind kept replaying the scene. Over and over again.
Chen Fan, on the other hand, was struggling just as much. He tried to steady his mind, but his heartbeat remained erratic. The image of Wang Yue beneath him—her golden hair fanned out like a halo, her lips slightly parted, her gaze locked onto his—refused to leave his thoughts.